A meal at Gelonch

[barcelonabites]

Hi All,

We live in Barcelona and went to celebrate my birthday at Gelonch a couple of weeks ago and I thought I'd share a bit of my experience for those of you who are trying to pick restaurants to eat at in Barcelona-

What we liked:
-The prices!!! One of the most reasonably priced tasting menus (from a chef who has worked at El Bulli and Gaig!) we have seen. Only 40 Euros for a 9 course menu!
-The food- the food was very good, especially for the prices. That being said...

What we didn't like:
-Although the food was good, it was not spectacular nor was there any one dish that I found particularly memorable (as in, I HAVE to taste that again!) Also, almost all of the dishes were quite heavy and rich and we felt there was a lack of balance overall. The food at Embat (where we ate the previous month) was much better.

-The service- very friendly but a bit uneven. The waiter didn't crumb our table before dessert and they had also left a bunch of stuff (old menus and other random junk) right out on the table next to us which was a bit unappealing.

-Atmosphere- this was our least favorite part. From the photos I'd seen on the Internet, I expected something modern and fun. Instead it looked as though the restaurant had first been decorated in the late eighties/early nineties and then never touched again. Basically everything seemed just a bit worn out, as though it had been a cutting-edge restaurant 25 years ago, but had since lost its prestige. Even the music was oddly dated and within the space of two hours, I listened to more Enya than I've heard since the 8th grade. All of this was strange considering that Gelonch only opened in 2007.

Tips:
Go for dinner rather than lunch since I suspect the atmosphere would feel a lot more special (i.e. you wouldn't notice the uneven paint patches on the wall, etc)

If you go for lunch, do NOT order both the tasting menu and the lunch menu (ejecutivo) because several items appear on both so you will wind up seeing the same item show up as a side on more than one dish.

I have read some great reviews of this restaurant on this board so maybe it was just an off day for them when we went. Still, if I were only going to be in Barcelona for a few days and wanted some REALLY special and amazing meals, this is not a place I would go. If you are there for more time and want to try some solid creative cuisine at excellent prices, then do give it a try (for dinner not lunch!)